Adjustable key lock assembly



Dec. 13, 1966 L. J. LAVIANA ADJUSTABLE KEY LOCK ASSEMBLY v.2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 12, 1964 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

LAWRENCE J. LAVRANA F IG 3.

Dc. 13,1966 I L. J. LAVIANA 3,290,910

" ADJUSTABLEKEY LOCK ASSEMBLY I 7 Filed June 12, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 26 3a. l t: 7

INVENTOR LAWRENCE J. LAVIANA ATTORNEYS.

of the lock.

United States Patent 3, 9 ADJUSTABLE KEY LOCK ASSEMBLY Lawrence J. lLaviaua, Kensington', Conn, assignor' to M. H. Rhodes, Inc., Hartford, Comm, a corporation of Connecticut Filed .Iune 12, 1964, Ser. No. 374,723 Claims. (Cl. 70-383) This invention relates to locks, and more particularly to a lock whose internal housing mechanism may be simply changed to permit the lock to open only when a new key is inserted.

One of the major problems in the field of coin operated devices such as parking meters, vending machines and the like is pilferage or thievery. While direct action of breaking into a coin box of a parking meter or vending machine can be made difficult and even unfeasible by a choice of materials for the device, there is an increasing incidence of burglary by virtue of the stealing of a key for opening such devices. Once such a key has been obtained the thievery of the devices will continue until the locks on the devices have been changed.

Unfortunately, locks commonly known in the prior art are not readily changeable and, generally, new locks have to be substituted once a key for the old locks has been stolen. This causes a great deal of expense and puts a serious burden on the vending machine operator.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide a lock whose internal housing'mechanism may be changed after the lock is first opened, simply by inserting a new key into it.

In the illustrative embodiment of the invention the lock is of the well known gravity biased tumbler type. When the key is inserted in such a lock, it goes through a punched-out hole in each tumbler, and adjusts the height of the tumbler within the lock cylinder in accordance with the respective cut or bite of the key. Each tumbler has a protruding member which extends below the cylinder, and another protruding member which extends above the cylinder. A circular-shaped housing or ring is associated with each tumbler, and contains cut-out sections along the inner peripheral wall, at both the top and bottoms tumbler will be raised too much and the upper protruding member will be inserted into the upper cut-out'of its housing. In either event, one of the protruding members, or hooks, is blocked by the respective cut-out, and the key and tumbler may not turn within the respective housing. The lock may be opened only if each of the tumblers is located or positioned so as to allow both hooks to clear the two cut-outs of its housing. Only in such a case may the cylinder and tumblers be rotated within the various housings, i.e., within the shell or barrel In any lock the housings are generally fixed. The key may be changed by substituting new tumblers for the old, with the new tumblers containing differently positioned punched-out holes, which when raised by the respective cuts on the new key will clear the cut-out sections of the respective housings.

In this prior art lock mechanism, for the key of a lock to be changed it has been necessary to substitute new tumblers for the old. This entails removing the lock cylinder from the shell. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, however, the housings,

i respective housings because the housings are similarly 3,290,910 Patented Dec. 13, 1966 raised or lowered by amounts depending upon the cuts of the new key when the new key is first inserted.- These amounts are such that the tumbler hooks clear the housing cut-outs. Once the positions of the housings are" changed, they remain fixed in their new places. Only the new key adjusts the tumbler heights such that the hooks clear the housing cut-outs. The old key raises the tumblers such that at least one hook on one tumbler does not clear the respective housing cut-out.

In my invention, the position of each housing is adjusted in accordance with the respective cut of the new key in the following manner. Each housing does not fit fiush against the upper and lower inner surfaces of the shell. While the housings are held fixed once they are positioned for any key, they may be raised or lowered when a locking screw is loosened to permit the housings to float. The old key is first inserted, positioning the tumblers such that the two hooks on each tumbler clear the two cut-outs or notches in the respective housings, and the lock is opened, i.e., the cylinder and tumblers are turned. The old key is removed and a new one with different cuts is inserted instead, while the lock is open. The clamping screws are then loosened. The cylinder and tumblers are then turned back to the locked position, and while they are turned the positions of the housings are automatically adjusted within the shell, i.e., raised or lowered, such that in the locked position the cut-outs are clear of the hooks on the respective tumblers. The clamping screws are then tightened and the housings are fixed in their new positions. Only the new key enables each tumbler to clear the. newly positioned respective housings.

This housing adjustment is accomplished by the provision of a uniquely shaped housing. The inner surface of the housing is not the usual circular shape, with the two cut-outs at the top and bottom, to be found in the prior art. Instead, the inner surface is more elliptical in shape with the elongated portion being horizontal, i.e., perpendicular, to the plane of each tumbler when in the locked position. The vertical inner width of each housing (excluding the notches) is the same as the height of each tumbler. The horizontal inner dimension is greater. When the lock is in the open position and the tumbler hooks are positioned along the longer inner dimension, the disc may be turned within the housing when the new key is inserted. The housing positions remain unchanged. But the position of the housings automatically adjusts as the cylinder and tumbler are rotated to the locked position by the tumbler engaging a portion of the inner surface of the housing to move it up or down as the tumbler turns with the cylinder and key. When the cylinder is in the locked position both tumbler hooks. on each tumbler are clear of. the housing cut-outs as there has been no change in the lengths of the tumblers nor of the notch-tonotch dimensions of the housings. The clamping screws are then tightened and the housing is thereby fixed in its new position. i

It is a feature of this invention to provide a series of adjustable housings within the barrel of a tumbler lock.

It is another feature of this invention to provide an elliptically or similarly shaped inner surface for each of the housings.

It is still another feature of this invention to rigidly fix the housings within the barrel of the lock by means of a locking screw which may be loosened when it is desired to change the positions of the housings.

Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a front end view of the lock in an illustrative embodiment of the invention;

the line 11-11 in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the cylinder taken along the line 1212 in FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a front end view of the shell of the lock with the cylinder removed;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along the line lat-14 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a view in enlarged scale of a movable housing utilized in the lock; and

FIGS. 16-18 are views similar to FIG. 15, but of reduced scale, illustrating the manner of changing housing positions in the instant lock in order to accommodate a new key.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the lock generally designated by the reference numeral 10 includes a shell 12, a cylinder 14 disposed within the shell 12, and means for securing the cylinder within the shell for rotation therewithin, said securing means being generally designated by the reference numeral 16.

Specifically, the shell 12 includes a main cylindrical portion 18 and an inwardly flanged end portion 20, the latter being provided with a peripheral abutment 22. As may best be seen in FIG. 13, the abutment 22 is provided with opposed notches 24 for purposes which will be understood as this description proceeds.

As shown in FIGS. 9 through 12, cylinder 14 has a central cylindrical portion 26 and a right-hand flanged part 28 the latter of which is complementary to the recess defined by the abutment 22 in the shell 12. The central cylindrical portion 26 of cylinder 14 is provided with a longitudinally extending channel 30 in which a plurality (here shown as six) of tumblers 32 are slidably disposed (FIG. 3). The cylinder is also provided with a central keyway 34 to receive a key 36 to operate the tumblers in a manner to be hereinafter described. At the left-hand end of the cylinder 14, as viewed in FIGS. 10 and 12, is a longitudinally extending cylindrical portion 38, which is threaded, to form part of the connecting means 16 effecting the connection between the cylinder and the shell.

As may best be seen in FIGS. 3, 6 and 7, the tumblers 32 are slidably disposed Within the space 30 of the cylinder 14 and are slidable relative to one another. To facilitate sliding, spacers 33 are interposed between tumblers 32. In lieu thereof, channel 30 might be divided into a plurality of tumbler-ways by partitions. Each of the tumblers 32 is an elongated plate with a main body portion 40 having a keyway 42 therewithin, and two tips or :points 44 and 46, hereinafter designated as hooks. The main body portion 40 of each tumbler 32 is provided with a side cutout 48 into which a holding pin or screw 50 fixed to the cylinder portion 26 extends to prevent the accidental removal of the tumbler from the elongated spaced 30. As will be understood as this description proceeds when a key is passed through the keyway 42 in the tumbler, due to the notches on the key, the tumblers will be shifted upwardly or downwardly relative to the cylinder in order to position them with respect to the shell 12. As shown herein the tumblers are all gravity biased tumblers. Naturally, spring biased tumblers can be employed, and in lieu of plate-like tumblers illustrated herein, pin-type tumblers could be employed without departing from the present invention.

It is well known to those skilled in the art that the tumblers of a lock of the type illustrated by the reference numeral 10 normally cooperate with a fixed housing having a circular aperture through which the tumbler may pass with clearance and a pair of opposed notches or other abutment means which normally engage a portion of the tumbler in the locked position of the cylinder to prevent rotation thereof, but which may be cleared by the tumbler if it is properly positioned by a key moving the tumbler to a clearance position with respect to said notches or other abutment means. As described above, such housings, which cooperate with the tumblers, are normally fixed to the shell of the lock so that only one key can operate the lock, that is, the key whose cuttings or notches position all of the tumblers to clear the notches or abutment means of the housings, so as to free the cylinder for turning. Since there is no means available in the average lock to change the housings, they being integral with the shell, the key for a given lock cannot be changed.

In accordance with the present invention the housings cooperating with the tumblers are all movably positioned within the shell 12 so as to enable the lock to be rearranged for various keys. This is accomplished by shaping the interior chamber 52 of the shell part 18 so that it is larger than individual wafer-like housings 54 positioned therein, whereby to provide clearance for movement of the housings 54 relative to the shell 12 and the cylinder 14. As presently preferred, the interior chamber 52 of the shell portion 18 is provided with upper and lower arcuate portions 56 and 58 joined by two straight sides 60. The housings 54 are similarly shaped on their exterior periphery, excepting that the housing sides 62 are shorter than the shell chamber sides 60 so that there is clearance between the upper and lower arcuate portions 64 and 66 of the housings and the confronting arcuate portions of the shell chamber 56 and 58, respectively.

Each of the housings 54 is provided with upper and lower notches 68 and 7t), respectively, on the interior periphery which notches are associated with the upper and lower hooks 44 and 46 on the tumbler 40 coplanar therewith. Moreover the internal diameter of the housing in the vicinity of notches :68 and 70, but excluding the notches themselves, is slightlyv larger than the length of the tumbler 32 from the free end of hook 44 to the firee end of hook 46. Thus, when the tumbler is properly positioned by the key, it will be just clear of both notches 68 and 70 to enable the tumbler to be turned if a key in the cylinder is turned. As the distance between the mouths of the two notches 68 and 70 is the minimum internal diameter of each of the housings 54, it will be obvious that no place else along the internal periphery of the housings will there be interference with the rotation of the tumblers 32. Accordingly, assuming all tumblers are disposed so that they are clear of the mouths of the notches 68 and 70, which disposition is achieved by the cuts of the proper key for the lock, the cylinder is unlocked and may be turned.

This operation, save the individual nature of the housings 54 as already described, appears quite conventional. However, in accordance with the present invention, the housings 54, as already noted, are bodily movable or shi'fta'ble relative to the shell 12. To render them movable, the housings 54 are separated from one another by a plurality of apertured spacers 72 which spacers have an exterior peripheral configuration substantially identical with the interior configuration 52 of the shell portion 18. Moreover, the spacers 72 have an interior peripheral configuration which is substantially larger than the interior aperture configuration of the housings 54 so that no portion of the spacers extend w thin the projected space of the aperture or notches of any of the housings 54. At the extreme left-hand surface of the leftmost housing 54, there may or may not be provided a last spacer 72. As shown in FIG. 3, no spacer is provided in abutment with the left-hand surface of the leftmost housing 54. However, in accordance with one feature of the present invention, a spring 74 is provided in engagement with the left surface of the leftmost housing 54 which spring is nor-mally in fully compressed condition by virtue of an end plate 76 which fits within the shell portion 18 and is forced into compressing relation with the spring 74 by the cylinder securing means 16 and by, two threaded securing elements 77 which are threadedly secured into two tapped holes 78 in shell portion 18 of shell 14.

As may be seen from FIG. 3, the securing means 16 comprises the threaded portion 38 of the cylinder 14, a nut 82 threadedly mounted thereon and in engagement with a sleeve 84 which is in surrounding relation with the cylinder 14 and in abutting relation with the central portion of the end plate 76. When the securing elements 77 are tightened firmly as by an Allen wrench or other suitable means, and the cylinder securing mechanism 16 is tightened sufiiciently, the friction imposed by the end plate 76 is suflicient to firmly clampingly hold the housing 54 and their interleaved spacers 72 against rotation, whereby to cause the lock end to operate in a normal fashion of a conventional tumbler lock. However, when the lock is moved to an open position, which position finds the tumblers disposed horizontally rather than vertically, the housing-spacer assembly 54-72 can be freed for bodily movement by loosening the screws 77 and the nut 82 to release the clamping force of plate 76 and yet retain a light friction force against inadvertent downward movement resulting from gravity by virtue of the pressure applied by the spring 74 which will exert the necessary light holding fotrce. At this point the key which opened the lock may be removed and a new key with different cuts may be inserted into the key slot of the cylinder to shift the positions of the tumblers which are now horizontally oriented. It will be noted, with special reference to FIG. 15, that the inner horizontal dimension or radius 86 of the housing aperture is substantially larger than the inner vertical dimension or radius 88 thereof, whereby to give the tumbler 40 substantial play or freedom to move without abutting against the inner periphery of the housings 54 in the vicinity of their horizontally aligned notches 90. With the tumble-rs 32 shifted as shown in FIG. 16, and with the housing assembly lightly held by the spring force exerted by spring 7-4, the new key may be turned toward the lock position (vertical) to turn the cylinder 14 and its tumblers 32 which tumblers, in the new positions, they have moved relative to the cylinder as a result of the new key, will engage the inner surface 92 or 92 of the housing 54 and thereby bodily shift the housing 54- upwardly or downwardly, respectively. The intermediate condition is shown in "FIG. 17. This shifting will be permitted due to the fact that the spring pressure is sufliciently light to be readily overcome by the operator of the lock. Accordingly, as the tumbler is brought into vertical position with the hooks 44 and 46 in alignment with the notches '68 and 70, respectively, the tumbler will be just clear of each of the notches due to the camming action of the tumbler on the inner surface of the housing itself (FIG. 18). Accordingly, the housing 54 is repositioned for a new key. With all of the housings so repositioned and lightly held against gravity in such positions by the spring 74, the operator may tighten up the screws 77 and the cylinder lock-ing assembly 16 to reforce the end plate 76 into tight clamping relation with spring 74 and the entire housing assembly to thereby relock the housing assembly in position to operate with the new key. Then the new key may be removed to thereby permit the tumblers to drop into the lower notches 70 of the housings and thereby to relock the lock in its vertical or locked posit-ion. Thereafter the lock 10 can only be opened by the new key. This condition will pertain until the lock is changed once again :by reopening the lock, and then loosening the housing assembly to per- 6. rnit reshifting of the housings to new positions and then placing still a different key into the cylinder to shift the tumblers. Thereafter, the key and cylinder can be turned to their vertical lock position which turning will shift the housings to accommodate the new key.

By utilizing the type of movable housing assembly described herein, numerous advantages are available. In manufacture the movable housings 54 and their spacers 72 are all plate-like members which may be stamped by stamping machines and hence are very inexpensive to manufacture and assemble. Moreover, by utilizing plate-like housings with diametrically opposed notches or cutouts, and by relying on the camming action of a coplanar tumbler disposed within the aperture of each of the housings, there are a large variety of positions which each housing can assume to thereby give rise, especially in a lock having a substantial number of tumblers and associated housings as shown in FIG. 3, to a large number of possible key cutting arrangements for the lock. That is to say, the present invention makes available a lock which may be adjusted to operate with any of a very large number of different keys without any substantial changing of the lock structure.

When the owner-operator of a large number of vending machines, parking meters or other coin operated devices utilizes locksof the present invention, it will be obvious that pilferage can be cut down by having only a very small number of locks operating off any given key and by utilizing a large number of different keys. The setting of the lock for each of the keys, as above described, is simple and not time consuming. With each key controlling only a few locks, if that key is stolen, very little can be pilfered.

Moreover, upon the disappearance of a key, there is no need for the owner-operator to go through the cost of substituting new locks for old. All that need. be done is to release the clamping mechanism in the locks presently installed in the devices, to bodily shift the housings in such locks by substituting a new key and then operating the cylinder to its locked position, and then reclamping each lock to hold the housings in their new positions. Thus, pilferage can be kept to a minimum and the cost of lock changes is reduced to practically nothing.

While I have herein shown and described the preferred form of the present invention and have suggested various modifications therein, other changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed. is:

1. An adjustable lock comprising, a shell having a hollow interior chamber, a rotatable cylinder disposed within said chamber substantially centrally thereof, said cylinder being rotatable to and from a locked position and from and to an unlocked position perpendicular to said locked position, a plurality of tumblers carried by said. cylinder and being movable transversely of the axis of rotation thereof, and a plurality of planar housings within said chamber, one housing for each tumbler, said housings each having an oval central aperture with the major axis thereof aligned with the position of the tumbler in the unlocked position of said cylinder, a pair of notches in each of said housings aligned along the minor axis of said oval, the dimension of said. central apertures along said minor axis, excluding said notches, being slightly larger than the lengths of said tumblers, each tumbler being disposed within the central aperture of its associated housing, and being adapted to bear against the surface of said housing defining said central aperture, each housing being proportioned relative to said shell chamber to permit bodily movement of the housing along the minor axis of said aperture, a movable plate for closing said shell chamber, a compression spring between said movable plate and said. housings for exerting a re- '7 leasable holding force on said housings, and adjustable means for moving said movable plate longitudinally toward said spring to exert a force for fully compressing said spring and for holding said movable plate within said shell, whereby to exert a holding action on said housings for fixedly positioning said housings in said shell. chamber, and where reducing said fully compressing force to a light holding force, by releasing said adjustable means, permits said bodily movement of said housings.

2. The adjustable lock of claim 1, wherein said means for moving said movable plate includes a pair of spaced apart threaded elements threadedly mounted on said shell and having laterally extending members engageable with said movable plate, whereby when said threaded elements are threaded into said shell said plate is moved to fully compress said spring.

3. The adjustable lock assembly of claim 1, wherein said cylinder is threaded at one end, and further comprising means for holding said cylinder in said shell, said means comprising complementary abutment means on the other end of said cylinder and the confronting portion of said shell and a nut threadedly mounted on said one end of said cylinder.

4. The adjustable lock assembly of claim 2, wherein said cylinder is threaded at one end, and further comprising means for holding said cylinder in said shell, said means comprising complementary abutment means on the other end of said cylinder and the confronting portion of said shell, a nut threadedly mounted on said one end of said cylinder, and a sleeve in surrounding relation with said cylinder and extending between said nut and said movable plate.

5. An adjustable lock comprising, a shell having a hollow interior chamber, a rotatable cylinder disposed within said chamber substantially centrally thereof, said cylinder being rotatable to and from a locked position and from and to an unlocked position perpendicular to said locked position, a plurality of tumblers carried by said cylinder and being movable transversely of the axis of rotation thereof, said tumblers each being elongated plate like members and having a hook at each end, a plurality of tumbler spacers disposed between said tumblers, and a plurality of planar housings within said chamber, one housing for each tumbler, said housings each having an oval central aperture with the major axis thereof aligned with the position of the tumbler in the unlocked position of said cylinder, a pair of notches in each of said housings aligned along tthe minor axis of the said oval, a plurality of housing spacers disposed between said housings for arranging said housings coplanarly with said tumblers so that each tumbler is disposed within the central aperture of its associated housing and is adapted to bear against the surface of said housing defining said central aperture, each housing being proportioned relative to said shell chamber to permit bodily movement of the housing along the minor axis of said aperture, a movable plate for closing said shell chamber, a compression spring between said movable plate and said housings for exerting a releasable holding force on said housings, and adjustable means for moving said movable plate longitudinally toward said spring to exert a force for fully compressing said spring and for holding said movable plate within said shell, whereby to exert a holding action on said housings for fixedly positioning said housings in said shell chamber, and where reducing said fully compressing force to a light holding force, by releasing said adjustable means, permits said bodily movement of said housings.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 466,918 1/1892 Forster et a1.

587,564 8/1897 Voight 375 X 2,453,066 11/1948 Gabrielsen 703 2,629,247 2/1953 Deutsch 70364 X 3,143,875 8/1964 Wellekens 70382 EDWARD C. ALLEN, Primary Examiner. PERRY TEITELBAUM, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN ADJUSTABLE LOCK COMPRISING, A SHELL HAVING A HOLLOW INTERIOR CHAMBER, A ROTATABLE CYLINDER DISPOSED WITHIN SAID CHAMBER SUBSTANTIALLY CENTRALLY THEREOF, SAID CYLINDER BEING ROTATABLE TO AND FROM A LOCKED POSITION AND FROM AND TO AN UNLOCKED POSITION PERPENDICULAR TO SAID LOCKED POSITION, A PLURALITY OF TUMBLERS CARRIED BY SAID CYLINDER AND BEING MOVABLE TRANSVERSELY OF THE AXIS OF ROTATION THEREOF, AND A PLURALITY OF PLANAR HOUSINGS WITHIN SAID CHAMBER, ONE HOUSING FOR EACH TUMBLER, SAID HOUSINGS EACH HAVING AN OVAL CENTRAL APERTURE WITH THE MAJOR AXIS THEREOF ALIGNED WITH THE POSITION OF THE TUMBLER IN THE UNLOCKED POSITION OF SAID CYLINDER, A PAIR OF NOTCHES IN EACH OF SAID HOUSINGS ALIGNED ALONG THE MINOR AXIS OF SAID OVAL, THE DIMENSION OF SAID CENTRAL APERTURES ALONG SAID MINOR AXIS, EXCLUDING SAID NOTCHES, BEING SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE LENGTHS OF SAID TUMBLERS, EACH TUMBLER BEING DISPOSED WITHIN THE CENTRAL APERTURE OF ITS ASSOCIATED HOUSING, AND BEING ADAPTED TO BEAR AGAINST THE SURFACE OF SAID HOUSING DEFINING SAID CENTRAL APERTURE, EACH HOUSING BEING PROPORTIONED RELATIVE TO SAID SHELL CHAMBER TO PERMIT BODILY MOVEMENT OF THE HOUSING ALONG THE MINOR AXIS OF SAID APERTURE, A MOVABLE PLATE FOR CLOSING SAID SHELL CHAMBER, A COMPRESSION SPRING BETWEEN SAID MOVABLE PLATE AND SAID HOUSINGS FOR EXERTING A RELEASABLE HOLDING FORCE ON SAID HOUSINGS, AN ADJUSTABLE MEANS FOR MOVING SAID MOVABLE PLATE LONGITUDINALLY TOWARD SAID SPRING TO EXERT A FORCE FOR FULLY COMPRESSING SAID SPRING AND FOR HOLDING SAID MOVABLE PLATE WITHIN SAID SHELL, WHEREBY TO EXERT A HOLDING ACTION ON SAID HOUSINGS FOR FIXEDLY POSITIONING SAID HOUSINGS IN SAID SHELL CHAMBER, AND WHERE REDUCING SAID FULLY COMPRESSING FORCE TO A LIGHT HOLDING FORCE, BY RELEASING SAID ADJUSTABLE MEANS, PERMITS SAID BODILY MOVEMENT OF SAID HOUSINGS. 